The International Space Station: Crew 13
Author: Erin - Little Star Shop
The International Space Station is one of the most extraordinary things humans have ever built. It's about the size of a football field, and it orbits roughly 400 kilometres above us, travelling at around 28,000 kilometres an hour. That's fast enough to circle the entire planet about every 90 minutes, which means the crew on board gets to witness around 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every single day.
What I love most is that it was built by many countries working collaboratively. The first pieces were launched in 1998, and it has been continuously lived in for almost 26 years, since November 2000. It represents a partnership between space agencies in the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, along with hundreds of astronauts from around the world who have spent time there.
Right now, a brand new chapter in its story has just begun. This week, four more people said goodbye to Earth and set off to make that incredible home their own. On October 1st, that's exactly what happened. Crew-13 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:10 a.m. on a SpaceX Falcon 9, and on board were four people about to begin one of the biggest chapters of their lives.
The SpaceX Crew-13 members: Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov (Roscosmos), NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, and CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk (Canadian Space Agency).
Meet The Crew:
Jessica Watkins is the commander, and she's making history. She has become the first NASA astronaut to fly a second time aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The first time, she was part of the team. This time, she's leading it.
Luke Delaney is the pilot, which means he's sitting in one of the most important seats on the spacecraft.
Sergey Teteryatnikov is a Russian cosmonaut, and Joshua Kutryk is a Canadian astronaut.
Four people from different countries, strapped into one capsule, heading for the same tiny home in the sky. Space has a way of making borders feel very small.
The SpaceX Crew-13 utilised the Crew Dragon Grace capsule (serial C213), which is SpaceX's fifth and final operational Crew Dragon spacecraft. The journey was the fastest Dragon trip to the International Space Station so far. Their capsule, named Grace, docked with the station on launch day itself. The mission travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) at an orbital speed of approximately 28,100 km/h, completing the entire transit from launch to docking in just 7 hours and 55 minutes.
The crew already living on the station was waiting to greet them, a seven-person team that was ready to welcome the newcomers aboard.
The crew aboard the Grace capsule.
Home For Six Months
Crew-13 is staying on board the ISS for six months. That's half a year of floating instead of walking, of sunrises and sunsets that arrive about every 90 minutes, and of looking down at Earth out of the window every single day. They will experience a total of 5,840 total sunrises and sunsets during their 6-month mission.
It's also half a year of research. The crew on board are studying how life in space affects the human body, through studying effects of exercise, cognition and blood pressure. It might sound technical, but it matters a lot. What we learn from astronauts helps us understand our bodies better, both here on Earth and on the longer journeys to come, like to the Moon and beyond.
Observing the Station Tonight
The International Space Station can be seen regularly with the naked eye, and no telescope is required. It appears as a bright, steadily moving point of light, often far brighter than most stars, capable of rivalling Venus at its best. Its motion is smooth, straight and silent, unlike the blinking lights of an aircraft. It is visible because it reflects sunlight while the sky below it is already dark, which is why sightings are best shortly after sunset or before sunrise. NASA's Spot the Station tool provides exact pass times for your location.
When a pass is due, step outside, choose a dark vantage point, put your phone away, and look up.
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